Verve’s Power Women: Kalki Koechlin

Fresh-faced, unconventional, strong, incomparable — words that embody Kalki Koechlin in the best possible way. From the moment she made her debut in the avant-garde yet radiant film, Dev D, the performer has carved out an extremely unique niche for herself in the world of masala movies and blockbuster thumkas. One could call her a director’s actor, what with her remarkable ability to portray an amalgam of vulnerability, sensuality, abandon and poise. This year is already shaping up to be another great one for the young talent, with the release of her critically-acclaimed film, Margarita, with a Straw. She is a force to reckon with, onstage and on-screen.

TAKING ON NEW PERSONAS: “I need logic to the character, some idea of how it’s working, even if it is a completely commercial film. You have to make that character believable for yourself. If you don’t believe it, your audience won’t believe it.”

ON ACCEPTANCE: “No matter how much you say you are only doing it for yourself, you want people to relate and understand. I don’t think of doing an independent film so that only my family will watch it, I think, ‘This is a great subject, how come we don’t talk about these things more?’”

ON PREPARING FOR MARGARITA…: ‘Once I got my wheelchair, it was the question of practising at home. So, every day I would sit in that wheelchair for about one or two hours. Whatever normal activities I had to do — like taking a bath or working on my computer — I did them as Laila.’